Lich for Hire

Within a gloomy old castle lit by dim, flickering candlelight, Ambrose Jenkins cracked open an envelope with his skeletal fingers. The crimson wax seal snapped with a crisp crack, shattering the magical seal bound to the envelope.

Inside was a sheet of parchment. The ghostly blue flames in Ambrose's eye sockets flickered as he read.

Esteemed Master Ambrose,

Your manuscript, “On the Morphological Remodeling of Non-Humanoid Undead Creatures,” has been reviewed by the editors of Legendary Spellcraft. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that your paper does not meet the standards for publication in our monthly journal. We recommend submitting it to a magical periodical with less rigorous requirements.

Ambrose's fingertips sparked with blue fire, reducing the rejection letter to ash. He glowered. "My data's solid. My viewpoint is novel. How is this not up to standard? This is discrimination against liches! It's prejudice against necromancy, that's what it is!"

Legendary Spellcraft was the highest-level magical journal in the world, jointly founded by the nine kingdoms and thirteen legendary magicians. Submissions were open to all magicians, regardless of race or nationality.

Since its founding, the journal had played a role in the advancement of magic all across the continent. Over twenty legendary spells had been developed based on the magical theory introduced in the journal.

All spellcasters considered publication in Legendary Spellcraft the highest of honors. In the nine kingdoms, prospective royal magicians wouldn't even get an interview without at least three such papers to their name.

As a respected scholar, Ambrose himself had many successful publications to his name. Yet in the last two years, his submissions had been rejected thrice in a row.